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Bruce Maddox
Commander Bruce Maddox was a male Human 24th century Starfleet cyberneticist, one of the most prominent Federation researchers in that field in the late 24th century. He worked in the Cybernetics Division of the Daystrom Institute and, in 2365, was the Associate Chair of Robotics. He would later be promoted to Chair of Robotics. Early life Maddox was born in San Francisco, California, Earth. He was vaccinated against common diseases and given a Federation Security Number. ( ) Starfleet career Early career In 2341, he was consulted in Starfleet Academy admissions. He was the only person to object to Data's entry on the grounds that, as an android, Data did not qualify as a sentient being. Ever since learning about Data and Doctor Noonian Soong's work, Maddox was inspired to continue it. He followed Data's career remotely while he worked on his in cybernetics. He dreamed of creating more androids to help Starfleet in dangerous situations. Attempt to study Data In 2365, Maddox earned Admiral Nakamura's support on a proposal to disassemble and reverse-engineer Lieutenant Commander Data in order to gain the final piece of knowledge he needed. After presenting his proposal to Jean-Luc Picard, Commander William T. Riker and Data, Data studied Maddox's proposal and found it to be flawed in its ability to preserve the nuances of his positronic brain, prompting Maddox to assert his authority and order Data to submit by transferring him from to Maddox's command aboard Starbase 173. Data refused and resigned from Starfleet, but Maddox challenged his right to do so, claiming that Data was property, not a sentient lifeform, a position initially supported by Captain Phillipa Louvois of the Judge Advocate General's office. Captain Picard challenged this position, stating that Data is arguably a sentient being as defined by most of Maddox's own criteria. Furthermore, Data currently represented an entire race and duplicating him for the purposes of forced labor constituted slavery. Louvois agreed with Picard's standpoint and ruled that Data was a sentient being with full rights under Federation law. Data nonetheless encouraged Maddox to continue his research. ( ) When Data's program was infiltrated after an Iconian software transmission, his systems went down. Geordi La Forge mentioned that an expert such as Maddox, or somebody similar could help. ( ) Despite the troubles inherent in their earlier relationship, Data held no ill will against Maddox, and corresponded regularly with him, keeping detailed records of all inter-personal activities. ( ) Creating the Asha sisters Maddox went on to recruit Doctor Agnes Jurati to join him in his research at the Daystrom Institute's Division of Advanced Synthetic Research, and the two eventually became lovers. Among the ideas they developed together in his later career was that of fractal neuronic cloning, a technique by which new "twin" androids could be created, even in "flesh-and-blood" human-appearing bodies, from a single positronic neuron of a "parent" android. He would later use fractal neuronic cloning to create twin androids Soji and Dahj Asha, sending them out to the Artifact and the Daystrom Institute respectively as part of his plan to investigate a supposed conspiracy. He disappeared following the Attack on Mars and the banning of synthetics in 2385, with his whereabouts remaining unknown despite Dr. Agnes Jurati's attempts to locate him. Life on the run Maddox established a facility with a substantial loan from Bjayzl to further his research. His lab was destroyed by the Tal Shiar, however; leaving him unable to pay his debt to Bjayzl. She initially ordered his death, but eventually reconsidered, knocking him out with drugged tranya, planning to sell him to the Tal Shiar. Having been tracked to Freecloud by Raffi Musiker, Maddox was rescued from Bjayzl by Jean-Luc Picard and the crew of the ''La Sirena'' two weeks later, but was brought aboard the ship extremely injured and near death. ( ) Death Bruce Maddox was killed by Agnes Jurati in the sickbay of ''La Sirena'', where he was still recovering from being held in captivity by Bjayzl. ( ) Memorable quotes " When in disgrace with fortune and men's eyes / I all alone beweep my outcast state.' Tell me: are these just ''words to you? Or do you fathom the meaning?" "''Is it not customary to request permission before entering an individual's quarters?" : - Maddox and Data when Maddox was entering Data's quarters ( ) "You are imparting Human qualities to it because it ''looks Human – but I assure you: it is not. If it were a box on wheels I would not be facing this opposition." : - '''Maddox', to Picard and Louvois on Data absorbing Human qualtities. ( ) "Now tell me, Commander, what is Data?" "I don't understand." "What is he?" "A machine!" "Is he? Are you sure?" "Yes!" "You see he's met two of your three criteria for sentience, so what if he meets the third, consciousness, in even the smallest degree? What is he then? I don't know, do you? (to Riker) Do you? (to Phillipa) Do you?" : - Picard and Maddox on what Data is ( ) "He's remarkable." : - Maddox on Data following his legal defeat ( ) Appendices Appearances * * References * ** ** * ** ** ** Background information Bruce Maddox was played by Brian Brophy in his first appearance, and by John Ales in his second. Apocrypha In the novel Immortal Coil, Maddox worked with Reginald Barclay and Emil Vaslovik on a project to combine holographic technology with a positronic brain to develop a new type of android. Maddox was injured in an attack on the facility by the Exo III androids, who attempted to steal the prototype the team had developed. Unknown to both the androids and Maddox, Vaslovik had stolen the prototype and replaced it with a non-functional dummy. Vaslovik, who revealed himself as the immortal Flint, had hidden the prototype aboard the disguised as Security Chief Rhea McAdams. The Enterprise was successful in defeating the androids, and Maddox returned to his work. In , Maddox, now a captain, argues before Federation President Nan Bacco and the Federation Judiciary Council that B-4 should not be disassembled. He was successful in his arguments against Doctor Lars Patek, and B-4 remained in the custody of Maddox and the Daystrom Institute. External links * * de:Bruce Maddox es:Bruce Maddox it:Bruce Maddox Category:Humans Category:Starfleet personnel (24th century) Category:Starfleet sciences personnel Category:Scientists Category:Daystrom Institute personnel